Christie gets acquainted in South Carolina

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - South Carolina has a history of rough-and-tumble political campaigns. But that may not translate to Republicans in this early presidential primary state's embracing a sometimes-brash governor from New Jersey.

Making his first visit here since January, Gov. Christie got positive reviews this week from Republicans who liked his directness. Some in the state, which handed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich a primary win in 2012, considered his off-the-cuff side an asset.

"People here, when they don't like you, they tend to tell you," said Deane Brown, a retired economics teacher from Spartanburg, who greeted Christie on Wednesday at Wade's Family Restaurant. "I think more people will admire him for that than not."

Terry McMillian, a Baptist preacher, said he was a fan of Christie's style. "I just like somebody who's a straight shooter," he said. "We got too many wusses in Washington, I'll be honest with you."

But political strategists in South Carolina see an uphill battle for Christie, predicting that his straightforward appeal wouldn't differentiate him enough from a packed Republican field.

"Here's what he's got going against him: He's a governor from New Jersey . . . who has had some issues, controversy, [and] who also sometimes has a knack, maybe, for being a little bit over the top when it comes to how he deals with opponents," said Chip Felkel, a political consultant in Greenville who is not affiliated with any candidate.

"You can be direct and not be offensive," he said.

David Woodard, a Clemson University political science professor who has been a GOP consultant, said Christie's "outspoken, pugnacious style" would be his strong suit. "Gentility has its place, but not historically in politics in South Carolina," Woodard said.

But he said the state's Republican base - "sunburned-red" - would likely be wary of Christie, noting high negatives for the governor in recent polls of likely South Carolina GOP primary voters.

"I hate to say it," Woodard said. "We just don't like Yankees down here."

Christie - who still has not officially announced a run for president - seemed to get a friendly welcome during his two-day swing through the state. A meet-and-greet Tuesday at a bar in the capital of Columbia, home to the University of South Carolina, turned into a de-facto town-hall meeting, as Christie took questions for more than an hour.

"I thought he was very jovial," said Sally Atwater, whose late husband, Lee, was the Republican strategist from South Carolina known for no-holds-barred campaign tactics. Christie "wasn't so aggressive" - not that a combative Christie would necessarily be a problem, she said.

In campaigns, "you always look for someone who can meet the challenge," Atwater said.

Christie struck a plainspoken tone at a town-hall meeting Wednesday at Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville, dismissing the "jokers" opposed to U.S. intelligence efforts that he argued were needed in a "tough, dangerous, dirty world."

Referring to the conclusion of the Iran hostage crisis upon President Ronald Reagan's taking office, Christie described the episode as an endorsement of the kind of leadership he said was needed abroad.

"They knew they could mess with Jimmy Carter, and they knew they better not mess around with Ronald Reagan," Christie said. "There was a new sheriff in town."

People asked Christie how he would address ISIS - he called for training U.S. allies "to fight this fight" and using airstrikes "when it's appropriate" - illegal immigration, the influence of teachers' unions, and challenges to the Constitution.

He occasionally skated over parts of his New Jersey record. On the Constitution question, Christie railed against "activist judges," not mentioning that he had reappointed New Jersey's Democratic chief justice after repeatedly blasting the court as "activist."

While upstate South Carolina is home to many social conservatives, no one raised issues like gay marriage or abortion.

Steve Rhodes, 63, a local Republican activist, said Christie seemed down-to-earth. "He knows what we go through, people in general," Rhodes said.

Gary Abbe, 61, a chiropractor from Taylors, said he liked Christie's "practicality" and his pragmatic message. But Abbe, who described himself as a conservative, said Christie's message of compromise gave him a little pause. His impression of Washington, he said, is that "Republicans compromise with the Democrats all the time, but Democrats rarely compromise with Republicans. You're always taking a step toward them."

Others were less wary of an emphasis on working with the other side. At Wade's, Randy Williams, 56, of Spartanburg, said he thought Christie could "get this bunch of knuckleheads" in Washington "to quit acting like kids and talk to each other."

Christie said Wednesday that if he runs, "I would spend a lot of time here. I think South Carolina is the kind of place where they appreciate folks who say things directly."

Among the early primary states, Christie has been investing most of his time in New Hampshire, where he is to return Thursday and again next week.

If Christie doesn't do well in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, "he won't have to worry about South Carolina, since he'll be out of the race or a minor factor," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

A Winthrop University poll in April found Christie at 5 percent among likely South Carolina Republican primary voters, in a near tie for sixth place with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Katon Dawson, a former GOP chairman in the state, said Christie has "a real struggle in South Carolina." Christie's tough-talking appeal - "he could take it as much as he could give it" - has diminished as problems in New Jersey surfaced, from the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal to fiscal troubles, he said.

"I don't hear a lot of 'Boy, I just really like Chris Christie,' " said Dawson, who's backing former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the 2016 race.

While South Carolina Republicans may like Christie, Felkel said, "they're not sure necessarily they want him to be the nominee." He drew a parallel to "that over-the-top uncle who's opinionated. . . . 'He says a lot of things I agree with. Sometimes I wish he'd be quiet over the holidays.' "

At the end of his town-hall meeting in Greenville, Christie also compared himself to a family stereotype: "the problem relative that you invite for holidays and you're hoping, well, maybe he won't come."

"If you're inviting me back," he said, "I'm coming back."